Page 34 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“I love you too, Wren,” he said. “And I always will. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to wait to get married, I want to do it before we leave the island. Max can arrange everything, the ceremony, the reception, all of it. We can get married on the beach or on a boat or on the top of the mountain; I don’t care; I just want to do it before we leave.”

“Blake, that’s so fast,” she said, her head spinning. But then she looked into his eyes and saw love shining in them. It instantly grounded her. “Why not?” she asked, knowing that it was the right decision. “The island is the perfect place to get married. I think a beach wedding would be perfect.”

“Really?” Blake asked, his face filling with excitement and a little relief. “Do you mean it?”

She laughed, “Of course I mean it,” she said. “I would marry you right now if I could. I don’t want to wait either, Blake. We can start our lives together before we even leave the island.”

He reached up and stroked her cheek. “Sweetheart, we began our lives together six years ago; our son is proof of that,” he said. “We just lost track of each other for a while, but that’s never going to happen again. I’m sticking by your side for the rest of our lives, and you’ll never be able to get rid of me.”

“That sounds pretty good to me,” she said, fighting back the tears. “I was so lost without you, Blake. Now I feel like I’m complete for the first time in a long time, and it’s because of you. I’ll never let anything come between us again, I’ll never run away from you, I trust the love we share, and I can’t wait to see where life takes us.”

Blake slipped the ring on her finger, then kissed her until conversation was no longer possible, and she gave herself over completely to the love and passion they shared. The moon had risen high in the sky before they fell asleep by the dying fire, wrapped in each other’s arms, bodies and minds in perfect harmony. Around them, a breeze stirred the trees as the island absorbed more of the powerful emotions they shared, and deep in the cave behind the waterfall, the glowing stone became brighter, giving off a glow that illuminated the stone walls around it.

The first rays of sunshine woke them the next morning, but they snuggled deeper into the sleeping bag for a long time, neither ready to give up the spell of the night. But eventually, it was impossible to avoid the start of the day, and they rose, both still warmed by the heat of the passion between them. A hot pot of coffee and sweet rolls waswaiting next to the cold campfire, but they didn’t comment on the bounty; they just enjoyed their breakfast by the waterfall and making plans for the wedding.

When they turned to clean up camp, with only their empty coffee cups in their hands, everything was gone, and they looked at each other and then started laughing. “I guess it’s time for us to go home,” she said. “I wonder what we’re supposed to do with these.”

A second later, the cups disappeared, leaving them standing empty-handed, staring at each other. “Okay, that was a little weird,” Blake said, looking around the clearing. “Maybe we should head home.”

She took his hand. “We have to tell everyone the good news,” she said. “We should do something to celebrate.”

“How does a big lunch in the village sound?” Blake asked, leading her over to the opening in the bushes. “That will give us time to shower and get everyone together.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said, following him through. “Now we just have to figure out which way the village is. I was so mad last night that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“Don’t worry, I was,” Blake said, grinning at her. “I’ve got your back, sweetheart, now and forever.”

Susan and Theo were just sitting down to breakfast when they knocked on the door. “What happened to you two?” Susan asked when she saw them. “You look like you slept on the ground last night. Get in here.”

They looked at each other and started laughing. “We did,” they said together, then laughed again.

“Mom, Dad, you’re here,” Theo said, running out of the little kitchen, then skidding to a halt. “What happened to you?”

“I asked your mom to marry me, that’s what happened,”Blake said, grabbing Theo and picking him up. “And it was a big surprise. You did a great job keeping our secret.”

Theo puffed up his chest. “I told you I wouldn’t tell,” he said, a proud look on his face. “Now I get to be your best man.”

“You bet, kiddo,” Blake said. “I know you can handle the responsibility.”

“And since I’m the maid of honor, that makes us a pair,” Susan said, taking Theo from Blake and setting him down on the floor. “Let’s you and I go have our breakfast so these two can get cleaned up. There’s more to this story, and I want to hear it, but not until the both of you are presentable.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Blake said, saluting Susan with a grin on his face. “But just so you know, the wedding is in three days, so we have a lot of planning to do.”

Susan froze. “Did you just say three days?” she asked, then looked over at Wren. “He’s kidding, right?”

“Nope, three days,” she said. “We don’t want to wait.”

CHAPTER 20

***BLAKE***

Max was the last one to arrive for their impromptu celebration. He was all smiles as he greeted everyone, but before he sat down, he came over and leaned down between them. “Wren, I just put your parents and your sister on a boat back to Bermuda. They’re catching a flight home later this afternoon,” he said. “I’m sorry about everything that happened. I hate the fact that I played a part in it all, but I’ll know better next time.”

Wren turned and gave Max a hug. “It’s not your fault, Max. Maybe it all needed to happen this way,” she said. “It all worked out in the end, and don’t forget Blake and I might have never found each other if it hadn’t been for you and this island.”

“Speaking of the island, something strange happened to us at the waterfall,” Blake said. “This isn’t really the place to talk about it, but I was just wondering if anything else has happened since you’ve been here.”

Max’s face paled a little. “Well, maybe, but I think it was all just coincidence,” he said. “And you’re right this isn’t the place to talk about it.”

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